The Griffin's Stolen Courage
by Widget Automaton
Summary: What happens when The March Hare gives up on love when his futile attempts to woo Alice fail? And what sort of news does The Mad Hatter have for the band? Its been a while since I've written a fic so it might be ehhhh...also this is my first Mad T-Party fic. I havn't written a fic since middle school, but GAWD! IT FEELS SO GOOD TO WRITE AGAIN! Enjoy:)
1. A Heart Can Only Dream

THE GRIFFIN'S STOLEN COURAGE: CHAPTER 1

It was in the early morning that the March Hare was making his way through the foliage, bundled in a striped green and purple scarf with his hands grasping at his matching green coat; his breath visible in the crisp October air. Thackery wasn't much for the cold weather. Being the _March _Hare, he much preferred the spring: warm with subtle breezes, flowers blooming from a winter's long slumber, and the cloudless, blue skies that spread for who knows long. But it wasn't the awaiting spring that was on the young rabbit's mind; more it was the events that occurred the previous night.

It was considered the last night of summer before the people had to return to another year of school or day jobs, and the band wanted to end this great season of performances with a bang. Though it sounded exciting, it was just like all the other shows. The Mad Hatter sung amazing chords, accompanied by The Dormouse on guitar and The Hare himself on bass. The beating drums kept rhythm with the talents of Cheshire which intertwined with The Caterpillar's melodies on the keyboard. Of course, it wouldn't be a party without the headstrong, delightful lead female singer, Alice. Her sweet voice serenaded the young rabbit, but his futile attempts to catch her eye have left the jilted bass player to give up all hope of fulfilling any chance of a romantic relationship. After the final set, instead of celebrating with the rest of the band for the strong performance, The Hare retired to his house for the night of a broken heart.

His green boots crunched on the dry, fallen leaves as he continued to walk through the backwoods to the band's performance stage. This was the only way from where The Hare lived to get to performances and rehearsals, but he didn't mind the long walk. It gave him time to think.

As he reached the edge of the forest, Thackery could see the bleach blonde hair of his dear friend, Mallymkun, across the open space on stage. The Dormouse had his legs swing off the edge, looking impatient. Observing his unusual behavior, the rabbit curiously made his way across the dry patch of dead grass, burying his face into his scarf as bitter cold winds swirled through the field. The mouse wasn't as caught up in the weather as Thackery, wearing a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt covered by his leather jacket. The Hare cursed as a gust of air brushed through his body.

The mouse's eyes spotted the frigid rabbit walk towards him, and tried to keep from laughing as Thackery fought against the chilling winds.

"Someone's been having a rough morning." Mallymkun teased, releasing a puff of smoke.

The Hare's purple and green eyes, which peeked above his scarf, showed annoyance as he made his way up the stage's steps. Why they couldn't move rehearsals indoors was a mystery to the rabbit.

"Oh come on Thack," the guitar player rolled his eyes, "I'm only messing with you."

"Really, I couldn't tell." Thackery stated flatly which caught the mouse off guard. It was unusual to hear such a tone from a goofy yet timid character such as the Hare.

"Dude, you okay?" The guitarist asked suspiciously as Thackery sat next to him.

The rabbit let out a sigh as he pulled down his scarf. Instead of letting his feet dangle, he kept them cross, along with his arms. Sitting Indian style, Thackery looked back to the other band member and managed to smile weakly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I guess I didn't get enough sleep." he apologized, and turned his gaze back to the open field.

The mouse shrugged and settled back, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Where is everyone else?" Thackery asked, realizing they were the only two there.

"Don't know, all I know-"The Dormouse quickly shut his mouth.

Thackery noticed his friend's sudden quietness and turned to him quizzically.

"Know what Mally?" he asked.

Mallymkun was hesitant as he looked up to his friend with concern.

"What?" Thackery questioned as Mallymkun continued to stare doubtfully.

Thackery raised an eyebrow which triggered The Dormouse to finally speak.

"LastnightAlicewenthomewithTa rrent." He squeaked quickly.

This left The Hare dumbfounded. He tried to form what he just heard into words in his head but he couldn't come up with anything. He only stared back at the mouse completely loss.

"What now?" Thackery enquired?

Mallymkun sighed and sat himself up to the rabbit's level.

"Last night after the show," the mouse began slowly," Alice went home with Tarrant." He finished, looking apologetic to the rabbit.

Mallymkun was always aware of his friend's affection towards Alice, it was probably why he would tease him when flirting with Alice himself, but it hurt the mouse to be the one to tell him of the unfortunate events that occurred between The Hatter and Alice. What he expected was just what he feared.

The bass player's face dropped and showed defeat. In one movement, The Hare groaned, fell flat on his back, his arms outstretched from his sides, ignoring the cold that suddenly began to surround and fill inside of him.

"You guys are early." A female voice declared.

The two friends looked to the stairs leading up to the stage that the young Alice was climbing with an arm linked with The Mad Hatter himself. Thackery frowned and turned his face; looking for something to distract him.

When he looked back up to the sky, he was face to face with the girl who stole his heart. She had hands on her black tights as she bent over the lounging hare. Her cheeks were red from the freezing air that contrasted with her pale skin. Her blue eyes stared down into his, leaving Thackery in an awkward situation.

"Daydreaming?" She smiled, melting the rabbit's aching heart.

"Nah," he lied quickly, "I didn't get much sleep."

Alice giggled and placed a hand on his cheek, "Well, you need to be awake for this."

Her touch made him swoon, but what she said caught his attention. Snapping his gaze from her angelic beauty, his curiosity got the better of him.

"For what?" Thackery asked.

Suddenly Tarrant came into the rabbit's view, arm draping across Alice's shoulder.

"Get up sleepy head and we'll tell you." The Hatter chuckled down at him.

Thackery sat up then got to his feet. The Dormouse did the same, his eyes still weary on his love-struck friend.

"So what's up?" Mallymkun finally asked.

"We've got awesome news." Tarrant began, his eyes drifted to Alice, who smiled back.

Thackery's stomach dropped. He couldn't take much more of it. He felt as if the broken pieces of his heart were now dissolving into dust. He caught himself holding his breath and told his brain to suck in.

After what seemed like forever, the silence was broken.

"We have a new member of the band!" Alice squealed and then once again things were mute.

The Dormouse glanced back to Thackery whose expression showed signs of relief; then after moments of realization of the situation at hand, the curiosity jumped back into play.

"A new member?" Mallymkun restated in question.

The Hatter nodded back and the two guitarists looked to each other. Without either getting any answers from the other, Thackery turned back to the couple.

"Who?"

_To be continued…_


	2. It Takes Time

THE GRYPHON'S STOLEN COURAGE: CHAPTER 2

It wasn't long before the news of a new member began to spring its way throughout the band and its fans. The Hatter explained that it was the first time the keytarist ever joined a band; but after a bit of convincing, the anonymous musician was arriving from Wonderland that night of their rehearsals. Rumors arised as the clock neared the hour of arrival.

Thackery watched broken-heartedly as Alice and Tarrant warmed up by the keyboard with Absolem's fingers climbing up the keys. Their faces seemed to light up as their voices intertwined into perfect harmony. Thackery envied them, especially Tarrant who now held the heart of the female soloist.

"It's almost 6 o'clock." a voice declared, making the rabbit jump out of his thoughts.

Mallymkun was leaning against one of the support beams upstage, guitar strapped across his shoulder. Thackery nodded silently as he turned to tune the strings of his bass absent mindlessly. The mouse watched him curiously but from the giggles coming from the keyboard, it didn't take him long to understand.

"Oh." the guitarist mouthed silently and strolled towards a frustrated rabbit who plucked a key in detests.

"You're going to get over it in time." Mallymkun said softly, afraid his voice might get caught in the stage's acoustics.

"And how long will that be?" the rabbit asked desperately. He looked towards the mouse; eye's exhausted from inner turmoil and heart ache.

It hurt The Dormouse to see Thackery in this state of mind. It was probably the first time he had ever seen the optimistic hare put himself in such a dark place. The mouse sighed and placed a hand on the bass player's shoulder.

"That's up to you." The mouse stated.

And with that, he turned and left.

Thackery stared after him, contemplating the mouse's advice. Dumbfounded, he placed his bass on one of the stands and took a seat on one of the amplifiers. He crossed his stripped panted legs, his arms, and quietly retreated to his thoughts.

_Just except it already, _The Hare commanded himself.

He groaned and placed his face in his hands. This wasn't going to be easy. He had always fantasized about the day Alice would say those three special words to him with such sincerity; nothing would make him happier. He peeked through his hands only to be greeted with the unwelcoming sight of the two leads giving each other a peck on each other's lips. That small peck of affection had the rabbit shelter his eyes once more.

As the rabbit fell deeper into his depression, he felt a tap of the shoulder followed by a small, quiet 'Excuse me?' Thackery lifted his head.

Standing there, expression of concern on her face was a girl. Not any normal girl that Thackery had seen before; she was different.

Golden streaks shimmered against her, thick, dark, brown hair that was let loose to hang over her shoulders. From what the rabbit could discover, there hanged a lightly browned feather with two small green beads attached. What he also noticed were two small horns that peeked out from the top of her head. She sported a trench coat on top of a dark brown tank top and plaited skinny jeans that hugged her legs in perfect fit. She stood at what seemed to be only 4, 9" however her black buckled boots appeared to play a part adding at least a foot to her height. Her copper eyes struck the bass player, leaving him frozen.

It was peculiar. In just an instant, The Hare found himself in a much lighter mood.

The unknown girl stood there with guitar case in hand, her body language showing signs of awkwardness as a silence formed. Its manifestation broke.

"Um," she spoke quietly, her eyes wandering the stage as she watched it getting set up. They finally made their way back to the rabbit. "I am looking for Tarrant?" she stated questioningly.

Dejection filled back into his chest, and with a sigh, pointed toward the keyboard upstage. The girl followed his direction, and spotted The Hatter conversing with Absolem. With a barely audible 'thank you', she walked away.

Thackery let out another sigh and hitched on his base. As he adjusted the strap, from the corner of his eye he could see Tarrant and the mystery girl chatter. As The Hatter chatted away, she only nodded. If she did say anything it was hard to hear, but from what it looked like, hesitation was amidst; Tarrant seemed to make a lot of rebuttals till finally it was settled. From the expression on the girl's face, she didn't seem confident.

A couple minutes later The Hatter offered his arm to her who shyly took and let him lead her center stage.

"Everyone, I am pleased to introduce Amari, your new band mate!" Tarrant announced.

The band had circled around the newcomer, who shrunk behind her host. Alice, who had scurried in excitement to Amari's other side let out a small giggle.  
"Come on!" the singer teased pulling at her arm gently, "We don't bite."

"Much." The Cheshire cat added, grinning wickedly.

Amari began to retreat a couple of paces and the Dormouse whacked the cat in the shoulder.

"What? I was kidding!" Cheshire hissed back at the mouse. Mallymkun only rolled his eyes.

Thackery stood silently in the circle, trying to get quick glimpses of the young musician. Alice had locked arms with Amari, keeping her out in the open for the rest to meet her. Slowly one by one, each member introduced themselves. The drummer gave her a small wink which made the young girl blush softly but coward a little bit next to Alice. Tarrant gave him a glare as the cat sauntered back stage. The hare had never seen anyone shyer than himself, but for some reason when he introduced himself, she timidly stretched out her hand to shake hands. It took the rabbit off guard, but took her hand welcoming.

In that quick instance when their hands touched, Thackey began to feel that 'light' feeling again. Their eyes met for a quick second till Amari quickly drew back her hand. Thackey gave a quick little nod to Tarrant and made his way back to his bass guitar. As he walked away he could hear Alice's voice jingle in joy as she lead her new girlfriend to the dressing rooms. When the Hare made it to his little corner, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"She seems to have taken a liking to you." The Hatter professed.

Thackery looked back at The Hatter, his arms crossed across his chest, a smile played on his lips.

"What do you mean?" the Hare asked innocently.

"Oh don't pull that crap on me dude." Tarrant joked. "I saw it!"

"Saw what? You're not making sense." Thackery retorted.

"Oh _I'm_ not making sense? Yeah, okay, sure."

Fed up with the Hatter's riddles, he pouted and turned back his attention to his bass. From behind he could hear the cocky Hatter snicker. But as the snickering died, Thackery found that he was actually more pleased than frustrated. Holding up his bass with one hand, he glimpsed down at his free one. He could still feel bit of a tingling sensation where _she _had grasped it. Her hands seemed to 'fit' into his; sort of like it was meant to. He felt his smile grow a bit larger and returned back to his bass. Maybe the Dormouse was right. He'll probably get over it.


End file.
